Up bright and early, we were. The drive into Salzburg was pretty, and blessed us with light traffic. The day ahead promised all the Mozart and Sound of Music we could handle, with a taste of the Alps and of WW2 beside.

First up was a walking tour that gave us a good bit of the first two. We saw several places that had “Mozart lived here” signs posted, one of which is thought to be his birthplace. Then the group sang its way through the park that Julie Andrews and the von Trapp children danced through in the Do Re Mi scene. Very heartwarming.

The walking tour continued through the old shops and streets, and stopped for lunch in Mozart Square, in front of the Salzburg Cathedral. As luck would have it an organ recital was scheduled for noon in the cathedral, so off we went. The cathedral is home to seven different organs, dating from the 1600’s to the 1800’s. The organist performed on four of them, playing songs ranging from meditative to big, showy pieces. It was wonderful.

We had lunch in a lovely outdoor cafe, then boarded the bus for another dose of Julie Andrews. We saw the convent that the real Maria von Trapp had been in (and where their actual wedding was), then drove out to where the tree lined avenue is (picture where the children are hanging from trees as the Captain returns to town), and where the gazebo that was in the movie has been moved (picture the Captain proposing to Maria). More singing ensued…

The bus continued up the hill, literally. A road that had been built by the Nazis in the 1930’s went far up into the Alps, giving us a wonderful view of the mountains and of the valley below; we also had a view of Hitler’s “Eagles Nest,” although we could not go there due to snow. It was interesting to find out that we had crossed back into Germany for this drive.

Last stop of the day was in Berchtesgaden, where we had an hour to explore shops (there was one selling varieties of schnapps with free samples) and a really cool old cemetery. We had a great time wandering.

Tomorrow we make our last jump, to Vienna. We have two nights there, then it’s time to head home. More to come…